As ineloquent as “double digit millions” sounds, it gives us a rough idea of the value of Tesla Motors as a whole: somewhere between $100,000,000 and $990,000,000. Give or take. But more likely, Tesla is being valued at something less than the value of the Phoenix Coyotes, the most worthless team in the NHL at $142 million. Go figure that I’d make a hockey reference in an article about electric cars. Only on a Canadian website…

Getting back to the 10% stake in Tesla, Daimler hopes to use its engineering prowess and myriad platforms to help get the Tesla Roadster and the Tesla S sedan to market efficiently and profitably. 

What will Daimler get in return?

Tesla will provide Daimler with some battery tech and lots of campfire stories of what not to do when bringing an electric vehicle to market. Since Tesla has made enough mistakes for two upstart companies, it should have plenty of stories to tell for years to come. Tesla will also continue to provide the batteries for the Smart EV. 

Let’s just hope that this relationship between Daimler and an American company lasts longer than the previous one did.

[Daimler]